


Being Human

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Belly Rubs, F/M, Fluff, Overeating, Sickfic, Stomach Ache
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 20:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1360540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No Doctor. Stop that. You can't eat that much. You're too skinny and you're human now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Being Human

He held her hand as the TARDIS dematerialized and traveled back to the parallel universe.  
Feeling a keen sense of loss, despite the half human doctor standing at her side, Rose turned to him, biting back tears as she asked, "Could he really not finish that sentence?"  
Her Doctor sighed and raked his hands through his hair. "He could have. He wanted desperately to, but he believes in the long run you'll be happier with someone who can reciprocate on "the rest of my life" thing." He hesitantly met her gaze. "He still loves you, but I do too, and I'm him; more or less."  
In answer, Rose simply pulled him in for another tender, passionate kiss.

The Tyler mansion was a full day's drive away, and during most of it, Rose either clutched the Doctor's hand in silence or asked the occasional, hesitant question, about what he remembered. He answered just as hesitantly, but after a while she was convinced it was indeed her doctor, just half human, and would be able to live his mortal life with her. After that, the silences grew more companionable, and Rose kept stealing excited glances at him, turning away quickly with a smile when he caught her doing so.

The Doctor relaxed as well, for he knew though he was essentially a copy, Rose wouldn't think him any lesser than the original. And although she already seemed to be excited at the prospect of sharing a life, he hoped that she eventually wouldn't think of him as The Meta Crisis, but just the Doctor; her doctor. She may already think of him that way, but he didn't know and he didn't know how to ask.

When they made it back to the Tyler mansion late that night, he got his answer. Jackie and Pete opened a guest room for the doctor, and the household fell silent as everyone went to bed. The Doctor lay atop the comforter with his suit on (he didn't have any other clothes after all) and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep, despite being exhausted, not to mention human now.

A few moments after midnight, he heard his door open. He raised up on one elbow and blinked in surprise to find Rose standing in the doorway. She grinned with her tongue in the corner of her mouth, and padded across the room with bare feet, before climbing onto the bed and wrapping her arms around the Doctor.

"Mm 'love you." She whispered in his ear, curling against his side and promptly falling deeply asleep.  
The Doctor gingerly draped one arm over her shoulders, clad in a fluffy dressing gown over her pajamas, and smiled blissfully to himself before also dropping off into a sound sleep.

"Doctor."  
He heard a voice call his name, but mumbled something unintelligible and turned his head further into the pillow.  
"Doctooorrr." The voice called again, dragging out the last syllable. He felt a sharp poke in his ribs. He opened his eyes to see Rose's face inches above his own. He smiled radiantly, though still sleepily, and closed his eyes again.  
She gave him another sharp poke. "Wake up."  
"Why?" He huffed as he yawned. "Do we have to be somewhere?"  
"Nope." His pink and yellow human answered. "But I think you're hungry."  
The Doctor opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow at her. Rose answered his unspoken question by poking the middle of his stomach. It growled loudly at her touch and she laughed as his expression changed from questioning to incredulous, as he stared at his abdomen, wondering if that sound could have really come from him!  
"C'mon." She said, pulling him to his feet and still chuckling. "Let's go get breakfast."

"Where is your family?" The doctor asked bewilderedly as Rose casually flipped pancakes.  
"They're dealing with the paparazzi. Strange man coming over and staying the night and all that." She winked. "They're settling the press down. After that, they'll probably go to lunch, so we've got the house to ourselves for a while."  
The Docter grimaced as his stomach rumbled hungrily again. "Soo... being human huh. Sleeping eight hours and eating three times a day. This will take some getting used to."  
"Exactly how much different will it be?" Rose asked, putting a platter of pancakes on the table and handing him a plate and a fork, as well as grabbing some of her own and a bottle of syrup.  
The Doctor grinned, kissing Rose's cheek in thanks before digging in, and between bites, he answered, "Well, I used to just sleep two to three hours a night. And I normally ate full meals only once or twice a week."  
Rose giggled. "Except those times when you'd steal chips off my plate."  
The Doctor swallowed and laughed. "Prepare to have all your chips stolen away, now that I have an appetite equal to yours."  
"Or possibly more." Rose commented as he scooped a tenth pancake onto his plate. "Shouldn't you slow down a little?"  
He looked at her in surprise. "But I'm still hungry."  
"It generally takes humans about 20 minutes after eating to feel full." Rose explained. "The signals don't get to our brains before then."  
He shook his head in astonishment. "That's completely inefficient. I'm not totally human though. I've still got some Time Lord in me. I'm sure I'll be fine." He stuffed another bite in his mouth.

The half human Time Lord downed twelve pancakes in fifteen minutes, plus several glasses of milk and an apple. He waited, as Rose instructed, in the guest room while she climbed into the attic to try to find him a change of clothes.  
He was relaxing in a plush chair in the guest room, patiently awaiting Rose's return when he began to feel an uncomfortable pressure in his middle. He looked down to see his stomach pressing against his clothes, and clearing his throat, unbuttoned the front of his suit. Ah well, he would be changing soon anyway. It didn't help for long though, as the pressure quickly built back up and he began to get confused. There was nothing constricting him anymore, so why did his stomach feel so tight? He took a deep breath with difficulty, and yelped as a sharp pain hit him deep in his belly.

Rose reentered the bedroom holding a T-shirt and a pair of men's jeans, but stopped in the doorway as she saw the doctor stretched out in the chair, hands on the bulge of his stomach and a panicked look in his eyes.  
"Rose! Can humans be allergic to pancakes? It's hard to breathe and my stomach hurts terribly and-"  
He was surprised and a little hurt when she started laughing. Here he was, he could be dying! -and she just stood there and chuckled like he had told a great joke.  
She laid the clothes over the foot of the bed and came to stand by his chair, kissing him on the cheek when she saw his betrayed expression. "You're not having an allergic reaction, Doctor, you just ate too much."  
His brow furrowed in confusion, but he moaned as his stomach gurgled again.  
"It's hard to breathe because you've stuffed yourself so full there's no room for your lungs to expand. As for the pain..." She patted his shoulder. "That's your body's way of telling you that you've overdone it."  
"I don't like it." The Doctor whimpered as he shifted uncomfortably.  
Rose giggled. "Few do. Hold on a moment." She turned and rummaged around in the dresser. "Here, some sweat pants. The jeans can wait for now, I think. The T-shirt should be fine." She left the room and closed the door, telling him to change and call her when she could come back in; she'd be right outside.

He struggled into the clothes, every movement making him feel sick. He called to Rose when he was finished, and she guided him over to the bed, climbing in with him.  
"Lay on your back and stretch all the way out..." She instructed, putting an extra pillow behind his shoulders to prop him up. She chuckled at his rounded stomach sticking out from his skinny frame. "Poor Doctor." She murmured to console him, seeing him flush with embarrassment. "I'm sorry you have a tummy ache. Just eat more slowly and you won't have to worry about this happening every time you eat something."  
He just nodded miserably as his stomach gurgled deeply. Rose eyed him sympathetically and laid a hand on his bulging stomach, rubbing gentle circles over his borrowerd T-shirt. He moaned a little at the touch, it felt good. His stomach felt tight as a drum under her hand, and when she pressed down he suddenly burped loudly, instantly covering his mouth and blushing furiously, mumbling an apology.  
Rose just laughed and asked if he felt any better. He considered for a moment, but just sighed. The pressure had lessened but his stomach still felt so heavy and full... And it still hurt a lot.  
He squirmed under the weight of his belly while Rose continued to massage in circles. What a way to begin his first day as a human! He felt deeply ashamed, but Rose didn't seem to mind. She kept shooting him adoring glances and he wondered how she could possibly find anything about him appealing at the moment. He clutched his stomach and groaned at another sudden stab of pain, interrupting her administrations.

"Wait right here." She said, hopping down from the bed. "I'm going to get you some medicine that might make you feel better faster."  
She returned carrying a bright pink bottle, which she handed to him, then stepped over to the adjacent bathroom to get him some water to wash it down with. When she came back, she stopped dead in her tracks as he looked at her miserably and moaned, "Rose it's not working..."  
He had drunk the entire contents of the bottle. All she could do for a moment was stare at him incredulously before running over and snatching the empty bottle from his fingers, hurriedly searching the label to see if she needed to call 999. But another glance at his green expression told her it might not be necessary. She dragged him off the bed and into the bathroom, once again considering calling the ER as a symphony of sounds gurgled deep in his stomach. He held his middle and moaned, before throwing up into the toilet several times and slumping to the floor, sweaty and still a bit nauseous. Hunched over like that, it took a lot of tugging and gentle reassurance before he let himself be taken back to bed. She gave him some water to wash out his mouth with, and wiped his face with a cool cloth before tucking him under the covers and once again laying down at his side. His stomach had not ceased making noises, and she kept asking if he thought he had any unusual side effects as she clutched her cell in the hand that wasn't gently stroking his now flat rumbling belly. He just shook his head and hiccuped every now and then. After a while he sighed deeply and mumbled, "Rose I'm not good at being human..."  
She gently squeezed his waist, to which his insides responded with an odd burbling sound, and giggled. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually."


End file.
